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Radagast
Radagast the Brown is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is one of the Istari, also known as "Wizards", who were sent by the angelic Valar to aid the Elves and Men of Middle-earth in their struggle against the Dark Lord Sauron. Radagast appears in The Lord of the Rings and Unfinished Tales, and is mentioned in The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. Lore Unfinished Tales explains that Radagast, like the other Wizards, came from Valinor around the year 1000 of the Third Age of Middle-earth and was one of the Maiar. His original name was Aiwendil, meaning bird-friend in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya. The Vala Yavanna forced the wizard Saruman to accept Radagast as a companion, which, Tolkien says, may have been one of the reasons Saruman was contemptuous of him, to the point of scornfully calling him "simple" and "a fool". However, he was an ally and confidant of Gandalf, who describes him in The Hobbit as his "cousin". He was also friends with the skin-changer Beorn, who deemed him to be "not a bad fellow as wizards go" and also said to Gandalf that he "used to see him Radagast now and again". Radagast lived for much of his time in Middle-earth at Rhosgobel in the Vales of Anduin, on the western eaves of Mirkwood, between Carrock and the Old Forest Road, near the Gladden Fields, its name deriving from Sindarin rhosc gobel meaning "brown village". Radagast had a strong affinity for – and relationship with – wild animals, and it seemed his greatest concern was with the kelvar and olvar (flora and fauna) of Middle-earth. He was wiser than any Man in all things concerning herbs and beasts. It is said he spoke the many tongues of birds, and was a "master of shapes and changes of hue". Radagast is also described by Gandalf as "never a traveller, unless driven by great need", "a worthy Wizard", and "honest". Radagast appears in The Silmarillion where he plays a part in helping Saruman, who is a member of the White Council, to stand against Sauron. It is mentioned that there are birds among Saruman's spies due to Radagast lending to him his aid, though Radagast knew nothing of Saruman's treachery and believed that he wished to use the birds for watching the Enemy (Sauron). In The Fellowship of the Ring, Radagast was unwittingly used by Saruman to lure Gandalf to his tower of Orthanc, where Gandalf was captured. However, Radagast also unwittingly helped rescue him by sending Gwaihir the Eagle to Orthanc with news of the movements of Sauron's forces. When Gwaihir saw that Gandalf was imprisoned on the top of the tower he carried him off to safety before Saruman realized he was gone. The only other reference to Radagast in The Lord of the Rings is after the Council of Elrond when it is decided to summon all the allies against Sauron together. Scouts are sent to look for help, and it is reported that Radagast is not at his home at Rhosgobel and cannot be found. Tolkien makes no mention of what has happened to Radagast, and he plays no further role in events. Tolkien wrote that he gave up his mission as one of the Wizards by becoming too obsessed with animals and plants. He also wrote that he did not believe that Radagast's failure was as great as Saruman's and that he may eventually have been allowed (or chosen) to return to the Undying Lands. However, Christopher Tolkien notes in Unfinished Tales that the assumption Radagast failed in his task may not be entirely accurate considering that he was specifically chosen by Yavanna, and he may have been assigned to protect the flora and fauna of Middle-earth, a task that would not end with the defeat of Sauron and the end of the War of the Ring. Names and titles According to the essay The Istari from the Unfinished Tales, the name Radagast means "tender of beasts" in Adûnaic, another of Tolkien's fictional languages. However, Christopher Tolkien indicates that his father intended to change this derivation and bring Radagast in line with the other wizard-names, Gandalf and Saruman, by associating it with the old language of the Men of the Vales of Anduin. No alternative meaning is provided with this new association – indeed, Tolkien stated that the name was "not now clearly interpretable". His title The Brown is simply a reference to his earth-brown robes; each of the wizards had a cloak of a different color. Adaptations Radagast was not included in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Gandalf's escape from Orthanc was instead instigated by a moth that Gandalf used to convey a message to the Eagles. Sylvester McCoy portrays Radagast in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit films. McCoy also played the seventh Doctor in the BBC show, Doctor Who. In Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the character is greatly fleshed out, compared to the original book in which he is mentioned only once. All the scenes in which Radagast appears are original to the movie. He is portrayed as an eccentric who prefers animals to all other creatures, at one point using his powers to heal a dying hedgehog. Radagast is shown to be able to communicate with birds; some nest in his hair, and have excreted down his head. In the film, Radagast is the first wizard to visit Dol Guldur after he realises an evil power has infected the wood he lives in. He discovers that a sinister entity, a "Necromancer," has established itself there. He is attacked by the spirit of the Witch King of Angmar wielding the deadly Morgul Blade, but he manages to defeat the shade, takes the dagger and escapes. Radagast's means of transportation is a sled pulled by enormous rabbits, an entirely original concept of the movie. Radagast meets Gandalf, Bilbo, and the Dwarves en route to Erebor, tells them of his expedition to Dol Guldur, and gives Gandalf the dagger to present before the White Council. When Thorin's Company are attacked by Orcs riding Wargs, Radagast mounts his sled and provides a distraction, leading the enemy on a chase while Gandalf and the others escape. Later, Saruman makes contemptuous remarks about Radagast during a meeting with Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond. He accuses the Brown Wizard of indulging in mushrooms, and dismisses the notion that the evil power Radagast has discovered could be Sauron. The chronology is contracted relative to Tolkien's original books, in which Gandalf had gone to Dol Guldur 91 years earlier and learned its secret, so that Saruman, Elrond and presumably Radagast had long been aware that "the Necromancer" was Sauron by the time Bilbo went to Erebor with the Dwarves. Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy moves the discovery nearly a century forward in time and lets Radagast play a role he does not have in the book. Released imagery suggests that the second part of the trilogy will depict Gandalf's own expedition to Dol Guldur, Gandalf acting on Radagast's warning. Appearances *LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game Gallery Radagast2.jpg|Radagast's token See Also *Gandalf *Saruman Lore Source *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radagast Category:2012 Category:Minifigure Category:Wizard Category:Protagonist Category:Male Category:The Lord of the Rings Category:Characters in The Lord of the Rings Category:The Fellowship of the Ring Category:Characters in The Silmarillion Category:Characters in the Unfinished Tales Category:The Hobbit Category:An Unexpected Journey Category:Man Category:Complete Articles